Roasted peanuts seller in Ochi, showing off his Usain Bolt stance
Grade 6 students taking their end of term exams outside (quieter!)
THINGS I’VE LEARNED RECENTLY

1. Jamaicans do not get paid by the hour even in places like Burger King. They are paid by the week.
2. Teachers do have a health insurance plan similar to U.S. Teachers contribute and the Ministry of Ed. contributes, and they pay a portion of dr. visits & prescriptions. The parish Health Clinics are free but statistics say less Jamaicans go there than 2 years ago. (Poorly staffed is one reason I hear)
3. Murder has gone down in 2010 but not that much(10%). We have heard from PC warnings about increased thefts and burglaries during this Christmas season. I have heard this on Jamaican TV as well.
4. Poverty has risen form 9.9% to over 15% in 2010.
5. My Rasta neighbor’s comment to me when discussing the purpose of Peace Corp and will it help Jamaicans, is that “Jamaica is a failed state” How sad that that is his opinion.
6. 3 young teachers at my school are all looking for jobs overseas ( U.S., Canada, UK, Japan) and express frustration with educational system and little hope for its improvement or t5heir career advancement.
7. Students miss a lot of school - one boy was absent 2 weeks and there is no real procedure to address this issue.
8. There is really no teacher substitute system- teachers will just combine classes, or maybe a parent will come in to supervise them. Miss Gowie, our principal, will go in to check on a class without a teacher but she does not stay and teach them. If too many teachers are out, school may be dismissed at noon.
9. Drugs and guns traffic with Haiti continues to be a problem.
10. Peace Corps celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2011 and Peace Corps Jamaica celebrates its 50th year in 2012! I’ll be here for both!
11. I think I have seen maybe one convertible here in Jamaica- personally I think the roads are so bad no one wants to be in one if they go off the road!
12. I went to the St. Ann parish Rotary Club meeting in Ocho Rios this month- it’s been around for 40 years. Kiwanis is here too. I hope to become active and either a guest member or a “real” one.
13. We are on a cholera alert since we are so close to Haiti.
14. I just met some Smithsonian (as in DC) researchers studying the Jamaican crow. They play a tape of their call and sure enough 2 crows flew over to check the “invader” out! Right on Breadnut Hill! They told me the crow population is stable but very susceptible to new pathogens, such as West Nile which has arrived in Jamaica, so they are working on a baseline survey.
15. It was explained that Christmas is a time to fix up your home- new drapes, furniture, bedspreads, not so much a time for present giving like in the US. I see Christmas trees in some stores and hotels (tourist focused obviously) but not in anyone’s home that I know of. I have been looking for a potted Norfolk pine but so far no luck.
16. Due to the severe consequences of the 4th grade literacy exam ( if they fail this they cannot take the GSAT) and the Grade 6 GSAT exam (which determines their high school placement), parents will pay to send their child to Saturday lessons to prepare for the exam. They may only take the GSAT once, so some students even repeat Grade 6 to give themselves a better chance.